Manchester City have “great expectations” for 20-year-old breakthrough Academy forward in first-team set-up

Juanma Lillo has confirmed that there are “great expectations” within Manchester City for Norwegian forward Oscar Bobb within the club’s first-team squad.

Having officially joined the club as a scholar back in July 2019 from Norweigan side Vålerenga, Oscar Bobb has gone from strength to strength within Manchester City’s academy system, and now stands out as a prime candidate to become the next star to progress into the first-team.

Across the course of the 2022/23 season within City’s youth academy system, Bobb registered an impressive tally of eight goals and 18 assists in 35 appearances in the Premier League 2, UEFA Youth League, and EFL Cup.

Oscar Bobb’s exploits across Manchester City youth academy outings earned him the club’s EDS Player of the Year award for a second successive season, before progressing into the first-team squad for the pre-season tour of Asia earlier this summer.

Now, speaking after the 20-year-old made his senior competitive first-team debut for the Premier League champions on Saturday afternoon, the club’s stand-in head coach Juanma Lillo said, “We have great expectations for Oscar, and he’s kind of almost won his place in the side through his talent.

“He’s a very alive footballer on the pitch, he’s very daring, and he’s someone who can play on the inside, he can play outside as well. But we need to be calm, we need to give him his time, he also has to be patient himself, and give himself that time.

“But again, it’s another great player that we’ve got that’s come from the Academy, and we expect big things.”

Oscar Bobb is expected to remain with Manchester City’s first-team squad for the duration of the 2023/24 season, and could also play a crucial role in the club’s achievements given the somewhat limited options available to Pep Guardiola in terms of depth.

James McAtee – who was initially expected to remain with the team for the campaign – secured a late season-long loan move to newly-promoted Sheffield United during the final few hours of the summer transfer window.

Elsewhere, and Cole Palmer confirmed a permanent exit from the Etihad Stadium joining Premier League rivals Chelsea in a deal that could moved towards £45 million when add-ons are taken into account.